Garden City lawyer sentenced in $6M real estate fraud scheme | Long Island Business News

An attorney from Garden City was sentenced Tuesday in a $6 million attorney embezzlement and real estate fraud scheme, officials said.

Daniel Boldi had pleaded guilty in October of 2024 to 13 counts of second-degree grand larceny and one first-degree scheme to defraud, in connection to more than 50 real estate transactions between September 2020 and January 2024, according to Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly.

He was sentenced to four to 12 years in prison. In addition, in a civil judgment, the defendant was ordered to pay more than $6.2 million to 52 victims to compensate them for what they lost.

“Daniel Boldi’s clients trusted him to safeguard their money during the homebuying process, but he ultimately betrayed them with his greed,” Donnelly said.

“The ripple effects of his theft are devastating, leaving victims in a financial hole of more than $6 million,” Donnelly added. “My office won’t allow the people of Nassau County to be cheated by predatory criminals who pose as upstanding professionals. When someone abuses their power like this, we will expose them.”

Officials allege that between Sept. 8, 2020, and Jan. 17, 2024, Boldi, who owned Boldi Law Group embezzled the money from victims, ranging from individual homeowners, real estate agents, lenders and other entities for whom he held money in escrow. Boldi committed escrow thefts totaling more than $4.7 million from victims, according to the DA.

In one instance, on Oct. 31, 2023, a couple retained Boldi to close the sale of their East Meadow home, with Boldi acting as the settlement agent, officials said. He was responsible for sending $309,367 from the buyer’s mortgage lender to pay off the couple’s mortgage.

Instead, officials said, Boldi falsely claimed the funds hadn’t been posted to his escrow account, prompting a “dry closing” with the deed held in escrow. On Nov. 2, he gave the couple a fake wire transfer confirmation as proof of payment, leading to the release of the deed and completion of the sale. However, the funds were never sent, and the couple remained responsible for mortgage payments on a home they no longer owned, the DA”s office said.

In another instance, officials said that Boldi provided a private lender with a fraudulent mortgage and title closing records, embezzling $1.15 million through two separate loan thefts between Sept. 8, 2020, and Nov. 7, 2023. Bank records show he spent those funds on personal expenses, including Venmo payments and property investments.